Thebmostatic conxbol pob heatebs



Feb. 2 1926. 1,571,270

H. G. JENSEN THERMOSTATIC CONTROL FOR HEATERS Filed may 13, 1925 2 sheets-sheet 1V Feb. 2 1.926. 1,571,270

A H. G. JENSEN THERMOSTATIOCONTROL FOR HEATERS Filed May 13, 1925 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 PATENT- o-FFICE.

HERBERT G. JENSEN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

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Application led Hay la, 1925. Serial No. 29,963.

To all whom t may concern: 4 Be it known that I, HERBERT G. JnNsEN,

ya citizen ofthe United States, residing atv Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Thermostatic Controls for eaters, of which the following 1s a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates toI means for controlling thefheating of water in tanks such as in hot water boilers having gas heaters which are in common use, 4the general object of the inventionbeing to provide a device which may be readilyapplied to existing hot water installations so that they may be converted into semi-automatically controlled installations y. and thereby minimize wastage of as and danger which is ordinarily atten ant upon the operation of hot water heaters where there isa liability of the gas to be left burning due to forgetfulness or other causes.

A further object is to provide a hot water installation with means for automatically shutting oil the supply of gas to a heater when 'a predetermined volume of water has been heated to a re uired extent.

A further object 1s to apply means to the tank and heater of a hot water installation adapted to be set when the heater is put into operation, and 'to actuate for the shutting off of the heater as by gravity when a thermostatic device forming part of said means is influenced to aV required extent by the raising of the temperature of the water in the tank.

The invention also aims to provide means determining the extent to which the thermostatic device is to be influenced before the shutting oli of the heater is effected, andv further, to provide@ device attachable to the tank of a-hot water installation, which includes a releasable member adapted to retain the heater turned on and a thermostat adapted to actuate said releasable member together with means associated with the said device and the heater, shuttin oil the heater when the said releas'able meml r is so actuated by the thermostat.

A still further Aobject of the invention is to provide gravital means for the closing oi of a heater valve; a member adapted'to arrest the gravital action of said first mentioned means; a device adapted retain said Amember in the arresting position, and

tion, the valve a thermostat operably associated with said device whereby it will release said arrestmg member when influenced to a required extent bythe heat of water in a tank .to whichl it is applied.

The invention also contemplates the provision of means for the remote operation of the device to set the parts in the positions which they occupy when the heater is in operationi Still further\objects subsidiary toA or resulting from the aforesaid objects, or from the construction or operation of the inven tion as it may be carriedv into effect, will become apparent as the said invention is here.- inafter further disclosed. v A

In carrying the said invention into elfect, I may mount a thermostatic device in a bracket adapted to bes'ecured to the outside of a hot water tank, said bracket including a latch movable by said thermostat and a weight supporting member normally engaged by said latch.' Said wei ht is attached by an arm to the valve o a heater whereby, when said weight is su ported by' said member, said valve is hel -open for the operation of said heater, and upon the actuation of said thermostat by the heat df Water in said tank, said latch member is released from said supporting member permitting said weight to effect the closing of the valve.

All of which is more particularly described and ascertained hereinafter, by way of example, having reference `to the' accompanying drawings, whereinv Figure `1. is an elevation of a hot water tank and heater to which the said invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail elevation ofthe operating parts of the device;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation'.

of the bracket and parte carried thereby;

Figure 4 is aiplan ofthe same; Figure 5Y is a similar view to Figure 1, illustrating a modified formof the invenbeing omitted; e FigureisasimllarviewtoFigareof the said modified form; and

was4

Figure7is'asimilarviewtnFigure4of' the modified form.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several gures of .the 1 is ttank and 2theg asheaterof awell known type of hot water installation, which heater is provided with the usual gas shut-olf valve 3 to which in this case an operating arm 4 is connected, which arm is weighted at 5 whereby such weight when free to depress the said arm effects theclosing of the v which is mounted a thermostat 8 which in this case is in th'euform of an expansible hollow disk containing a fluid adapted to vaporize at a suitable temperature and there# by cause the expansion of the disk. Hingedly mounted on the lower part of the bracket and adapted to swing vertically, is an Lf shaped member 9, the upper end of which is provided with an adjustable extension 10 and the other end of which is provided with a li 11 so that it may receive and support a rmg 12. attached by a cord 13 to the weight 5 when the said member 9is in its upwardly swung position.

14 'is a retaining member or latch hingedly connected at 15 to the upper part of the said bracket and provided with a depending arm 16' which rests against the face of the thermostat 8 and an outwardly extending arm 17 provided with teeth 18, 19, 20 and 21, arranged on its underside so that the extension 10 of the member 9 may be engaged with one or other of the said teeth for the retention of the said member 9 1n a weight-supporting position. The saidl 10 v aries withl different teeth; and in theA example the required releasing movement diminishes as the teeth are situated outwardly of the arm'17, so that a smaller movement is required to release the member from the tooth 21 than from the tooth 18. The expansion of the thermostat 8 by heat emanating from hot water in the tank pushes the arm .16 outwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, thereby raising the arm 17 and efecti'ng the release of the member 9, so that it will. be apparent that the amount of expansion `of the thermostat required to eli'ect such release of the Vmeinber 9 is dependent upon which ofthe teeth 18, 19, 20 and 21 the extension. 10 is engaged with. Therefore, by selectively engaging the said extension 10 with one or other of the Asaid teeth, the extent to which the water in the tank must be heated to effect such desired release is determined.

Upon the release of the member 9 as described, and indicated in dotted lines in the said Figure 2, the said weight supporting member 9 will lswing outwardly so that the .ring 12 will be released therefrom and the this manner being eected when a. s uicient heating of the water in the tank hastaken place as determined by the setting of the extension 10 relative to the teethof the latch 17. .The temperature at which the release of the member 9 is eiected determines the amount of heated water in the tank, so that' if only a small quantity of water be required, the extension 10 is engaged with the tooth 21, but if alconsiderable quantity of heated water be required it is engaged with one of the teeth 18 or.19. For instance, a practical form of the said device when applied lto the upperj part of the ordinary hot water tank is arranged so that the tooth 21 is disengaged fom the extension 10 when the thermostat is subjected to atemperature of 145 to 150, at

uponthe tank is almost filled with hot water; and the tooth 18 at 210 to 215,-

at which upper temperature of the tank said tank is entirely filled with hot water.

The resetting of the device when the heater is again to be brought into operationsimply consists in lie-engaging the eX- tension 10 with one of the teeth of the latch 17, the raising of the weight 5 -and the securing of the vring 12 on the member 9, whereupon the resulting ilow of gas to the heater-1s ignited in any suitable manner.

Whereprovision is made for automatic lighting of the heater, such as by means of a pilot light, it is sometimes desirable that remote operation of the device may be possible, and in such case I may utilize the arrangement shown in Figures 5,6 and 7,

wherein a weighted cord or chain 22 is attached to the outer end of the latch member 17 so that it may be manually operated if so desired from a distance, and. the ring 12 is replaced by a. ball or abutment 23 from which extends a further cord or chain 24 through which the remote operation of the weighted arm 4 may be elfected for th turning on of the l'1eater.A l

The weight' supporting member 9 in this modified form is replaced .'by a member 25 having outwardly extending jaws 26 and 27, theformer being provided. with an orifice 28 through which the4 cord 24 passes' and the latter with a slot 29 for the accommodation of the cord 13, 30 being a light spring tending to Aretain the member 25 in an outwardly swung position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5. i

The operation of the modified -orm is as follows: When the heater is shut 'ol the member25 is in the position indicated in dotted. lines andthe arm 4, of course, in its lowered Aposition due to the lfact that the abutment 23 is not supported by the said member, and when it is desired to turn on the heater the arm 4 and the abutment 23 are raisedfby the pulling upwardly of the cord 24 which causes the said abutment 23 to 'enter between the jaws of the member 25 y engaged said latch member will be raised as in the first described arrangement and the weighted arm will be released as will be readily understood.

The object of the spring 30 is simply to revent premature raising of the member 25 1f the cord 24.J should be in or come into contact with the said member during the initial raising of the arm 4.

The described invention is well adapted for household use and ready application to existing hot water installations, and provides a great convenience in the use of such installations as well as affording a protection against the wastage of gas or the overheating of water in the tank.

This invention may be developed within the scope of the following claims without departing from the essential features of the f said invention, and it is desired that the specification and drawing be read as merely illustrative and not in a limiting sense, except as necessitated by the prior art.

What I claim is z- 1. In combination with a tank and a heater having a valve, an expansible thermostat larranged on the side of said tank near the `top thereof, an upwardly swingable' latch memben having a downwardly depending arm movable by said thermostat, a downwardly swingable member engaged in an upwardly adjusted 'position by said latch member, and releasable therefrom by the raising of said latch member, valve opening means retained 1n operative positlon b sai member 1n its raised posltion and re eased by the downward Swingin of said member,

and means closing the va Ve upon such release of the opening means.

2. Thermostatically operable Valve controlling means for hot water tanks, comprising a thermostat, a mounting' therefor whereby it may be secured to the upper part of a tank, an upwardly swingable latch adapted to be raised by the operation of said thermostat, and a downwardly swingable valve control lever adapted to engage saidA latch at different points in its length whereby diflerent degrees of operation of said latch are required to effect the release of said lever therefrom.

3. In combination with a tank and a heater having a valve, a lever normally closing said valve, a cord for the remote operationofsaid lever, an abutment on said cord, a supporting member adapted to engage said abutment when the lever is raised by said cord and thereby retain said lever in a valve opening position, and a thermostatically operable latch member subject to the influence of heat from said tank and releasing said supporting member when so influenced, saidsupporting member including a i aw engaged by said abutment when lifted, whereby said member is raised, and a further jaw upon which said abutment rests when said cord is released. v

4. In combination with a tank and a heater having a valve, a lever normally closf ing said valve, a cord for the remote operation of said lever, an abutment on said cord, a supporting member adapted to engage said abutment when the arm is raised by said cord and thereby retain said lever in a valve opening position, a thermostatically In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. i

rrEaBERT e. JENSEN.4 

